• Sheds at the Eden project

    Posted on May 20th, 2009

    My last post about my visit to Cornwall, this time the great sheds at the Eden Project’s Allotment..

    Come and see our allotments flourish in our Global Gardeners exhibit. Our hops will be climbing their merry way up towards the sun and our fibre-producing friends, the nettles, look very happy indeed.

    Come and see our veg! Our lettuces will be looking lovely throughout May. Colourful stripes of tasty vitamins!

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    I first went to the Eden Project the year it opened and was looking forward to visiting again, not much changed apart from things have grown a bit.

    Filed under: Allotments by Wilco - Comments

    Allotments are great! 1,000 more coming

    Posted on February 20th, 2009

    The telegraph has an article about these British institutions that tend to have sheds on them


    Creative Commons License photo credit: steve p2008

    For those of us who have been ploughing our often lonely furrows for several decades, it is great news that the National Trust is converting some of its rolling acres into 1,000 or so allotments. If nothing else, it raises the status of our compulsive hobby. No longer are we gardeners ragged-trousered eccentrics, but admirable pioneers, helping to save the planet.

    Allotments were introduced by philanthropic Victorians to provide a healthy diet and lifestyle for factory workers – and today, when their appeal has crossed the class divide, they offer the same benefits. To nurture a tiny seed until it becomes a plump pumpkin or parsnip fulfils a basic human instinct; digging the first new potato is better for body and soul than turning into one on a couch in front of the TV or laptop.

    If you look out of the window of the train next time you go past a site, you will see the familiar and comforting tumbledown sheds, wonky beanpoles, strips of ragged carpet to stifle the weeds and chains of old DVDs flapping in the breeze in a vain attempt to deter pigeons.

    Filed under: Allotments by Wilco - Comments

    Crocus Sale - Great for the allotment

    Posted on January 21st, 2009

    A great sale on a pressure washer

    Karcher K2950M Deluxe Pressure Washer

    Karcher K2950M Deluxe Pressure Washer
    Was £239.99 NOW £95.91
    Join the jet set with this superb, compact and powerful pressure washer that’s ideal for clearing dirt and debris from almost any surface. Whether you want to clean up paving and walling, remove winter algae from the deck or simply clear the grime from your 4×4, this machine will do the job. It’s maximum 110 Bar/pressure is designed to tackle a range of tasks.

    * 110 Max Bar pressure washer
    * 1400 watt Universal motor
    * Max volume 360 litres per hour (330l/ph)
    * Detergent suction hose
    * Auto start stop
    * 4 meter hose pipe (including trigger gun)
    * Includes handle and large wheels for easy transport
    * Compact and powerful
    Buy it now

    Fruit and Vegetable Offers

    Filed under: asides by Wilco - Comments

    Good news for the sheddie allotmenter and mrs sheddie

    Posted on January 16th, 2009

    The telegraph reports.

    As little as 30 minutes a week tending the garden or allotment can dramatically improve men’s performance in bed, according to the experts in the field.

    Potatoes on pink
    Creative Commons License photo credit: eob

    Digging, weeding or mowing the lawn for half an hour reduced men’s risk of failing to live up to expectations in bed by more than a third, the survey found.

    The same study showed other forms of moderate exercise, such as dancing and cycling, could have similar benefits.

    Men who spend even more time in the vegetable patch can more than halve their risk of impotence, researchers at the Medical University of Vienna found in their study.

    “Erectile function can be maintained even by low, regular physical activity,” concludes the report. “Energy expenditure of as little as 1,000 calories a week reduces the risk. Doctors should use these findings to encourage their patients to do more physical training and adopt a healthier lifestyle.” tending the garden or allotment can dramatically improve men’s performance in bed, according to the experts in the field.

    Digging, weeding or mowing the lawn for half an hour reduced men’s risk of failing to live up to expectations in bed by more than a third, the survey found.

    The same study showed other forms of moderate exercise, such as dancing and cycling, could have similar benefits.

    Men who spend even more time in the vegetable patch can more than halve their risk of impotence, researchers at the Medical University of Vienna found in their study.

    “Erectile function can be maintained even by low, regular physical activity,” concludes the report. “Energy expenditure of as little as 1,000 calories a week reduces the risk. Doctors should use these findings to encourage their patients to do more physical training and adopt a healthier lifestyle.”

    Filed under: Shed News by Wilco - Comments

    Just Sheds : Great recycling

    Posted on December 29th, 2008

    Saw this on our wonderful photo Just Sheds group shed recycling at it’s best

    tv_shed

    TV screen for a window

    Filed under: Just sheds by Wilco - Comments

    London roofs to become allotments?

    Posted on November 3rd, 2008

    The telegraph reports

    Unused space in London, such as roof gardens and housing estates could be transformed into allotments under a new initiative by London Mayor Boris Johnson.

    Allotment view
    Creative Commons License photo credit: LoopZilla

    The unused spaces are to be converted into vegetable gardens which would grow potatoes and brussels sprouts in an attempt to feed the 2012 Olympic athletes with home-grown products.

    It is thought the flat roofs in London comprise an area 24 times the size of Richmond Park - and their owners will be offered incentives to convert their space.

    As environmental awareness has grown, growing vegetables on allotments has become more popular across the country, although London still produces little of its own food.

    Where would you put the shed? and could unscrupulous estate agents use the shed as an extra room?

    Filed under: Allotments by Wilco - Comments

    Just Sheds - more great allotment sheds

    Posted on August 26th, 2008

    Two great but differing examples of allotment sheds.

    Allotment Tool Shed

    Vratch Heights

    Filed under: Just sheds by Wilco - Comments

    Allotments for obese londoners for a tenner

    Posted on August 6th, 2008

    This is london reports.

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    Allotments could offer the solution to London’s obesity epidemic.

    Council chiefs are offering residents more than 300 subsidised plots for as little as £10 a year in the hope of improving their diets and giving them more exercise.

    Londonwide the popularity of allotments has soared, with waiting lists of up to a decade in some places. Now Harrow council, which has surplus spaces, has decided to offer hundreds of people the chance to grow their own for half price.

    Councillor Susan Hall said: “I urge anyone who doesn’t have a garden to sign up. It’s a fantastic hobby that delivers a wide range of benefits, including the ability to grow your own pesticide-free fresh fruit and vegetables as well as providing a vital habitat for wildlife.” She said the allotments were particularly targeted at families who live in flats and properties without gardens.

    “This is a great way of getting children out in the open air and gives them a chance to nurture something,” she said.

    “It’s fantastic exercise - much better than being stuck in front of the TV - and people also get to eat organic food.”

    Filed under: Allotments by Wilco - Comments

    Charlotte Church is desperate to own an allotment

    Posted on August 5th, 2008

    According the PA

    Green-fingered Charlotte Church is desperate to own an allotment, she has revealed.

    The multi-millionaire singer-turned-TV host said she already grows her own vegetables and collects eggs laid by her hens.

    Church, 22, who is expecting her second baby in November with rugby star boyfriend Gavin Henson, said: “I love gardening. Gavin and I grow a lot of our own vegetables and we have some hens for fresh eggs. We’ve got dogs and geese as well,” she told Hello! magazine.

    Well I hope she will share her shed when she gets it.

    Filed under: Allotments by Wilco - Comments

    Shed and Garden - Slugs natures evil wossnames

    Posted on August 5th, 2008

    This will be the odd post in the style of home and garden (maybe not) that will be a post about me whingeing about my failues as a gardener.

    Today it’s about slugs, in Welsh Wales we have been getting lots and lots and blod%y lots of slugs in the wilco garden (and elsewhere Iam told!)

    My little gastropod mollusk enemies have done the following damage so far

    1) Eaten my strawberries
    2) Munched their way through my courgettes
    3) Decemated my peppers
    4) Starting making their evil way to shed to see if they can get my broadbean plants before I plant them out (ok Iam late but iam a total beginner)

    This had to stop, so took the advice of Bob flowerdew from this organic gardening book.


    I bough some copper tape from ebay, this seems to have worked for my potatoes I grow them in bags, so put the tape on around the bag, but they pesky beggers are still around looking to nibble on any new plant.

    So I have decided to take another more germ warefare route and bought some nematodes from Unwins, but you can buy it on ebay as well.

    The control of slugs is very difficult, slug pellets are effective ,but can have serious effects on birds, pets and wildlife, They are also only effective on slugs at the surface. By treating with Nemaslug® it is specific to slugs and will not affect birds, pets or any wildlife and is effective both above and below ground. Nemaslug® is a naturally occurring parasitic nematode of slugs - Phasmarhabditis Hermaphrodita. The nematode enters the slug through the slug mantle - the saddle like structure on its back. Once inside, the nematode releases a bacterium which multiply and this is what the nematode feeds on. The nematodes multiply and within 3-5 days the slug stops feeding and will burrow underground to die.

    I used the stuff last night so will let you know how I get on next week.

    Filed under: Allotments by Wilco - Comments

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